


Parental Units

by pherryt



Series: Star Trek Bingo [17]
Category: Star Trek
Genre: Comfort, Communication, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Multi, nervous bones, visiting vulcan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 05:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19267156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Leonard's already met Spock's parents, so why is he so damn anxious about this trip?





	Parental Units

**Author's Note:**

> So, they already met in the episode Tower of Babel which i will fully admit, i've never seen though i read synopsis for it a long time ago. i've only seen maybe.... a quarter of the original series? at first because i couldn't get my hands on them and now because i haven't had the time. but i've read a lot of the books and of course all the movies. i did think it weird that spocks parents weren't there for Spock at his 'wedding' that turned out so badly, but i guess with Sarek being an ambassador... he could have been offplanet and unable to make it back in time?
> 
> okay, i'm rambling here . anyway, i just thought it'd be funny if one or more of them were nervous about meeting SPocks parents even though they'd already met, because it was different this time and it somehow devolved into a bit of angst. so...have a story...

Leonard fussed with Jim’s shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles before flitting up to the collar.

“Bones, it’s fine, leave it,” Jim said. “What’s up with you anyway?”

“Nothing,” Leonard groused, letting his hands fall away from Jim’s civilian clothes and shoving his hands into his own pockets. He didn’t like this, not having something for his hands to fiddle with. At least on away teams, when he was anxious, he had his tricorder to disguise and distract. But this…

This was going to drive him nuts.

“So,” Jim started, then sighed, letting the lie go. Because even if Leonard wanted to lie to himself, he couldn’t lie to the bond. Without Spock it was harder to read, but it was still there. “Ready to go?”

 _No_ , Leonard thought. “Of course,” Leonard said, following Jim up to the transporter pads.

“Len,” Jim said softly, catching Leonard by the arm. “I don’t get it, why are you so nervous? We’ve _both_ met Spock’s parents before.”

Leonard sighed. “I know, it’s stupid. Let’s just get going. Spock’ll be waiting with that infuriating eyebrow of his raised. You _know_ what he’ll be thinking if we’re late…”

Jim chuckled. “And he would almost be right. I forgot how good you looked in regular clothes. Had to hold myself back.”

Leonard snorted, relaxing as he knew Jim had intended.

“There ya go.” Jim smiled at him, speaking softly. He leaned in and gave Leonard a gentle kiss, the warmth of his love flowing over the bond, the reassurance and support – all of it growing stronger, easier to feel with the touch of lips on lips – bolstering the nerves he refused to acknowledge.

The bond between him, Jim and Spock, their ability to be there for each other in a way he’d never been thought possible, was one of those things Leonard loved but wasn’t sure he’d ever quite get used to.

Jim stepped back, standing properly on the transporter pad. It wasn’t like they _needed_ the pads for transportation, otherwise, how would they arrive at destinations that didn’t have them? However, it not only made sense to have a space dedicated for that, but it also made the beam more stable, or something.

Leonard was for anything that stacked the deck in his favor if he was going to have to risk using the godforsaken things. The number of times _something_ had gone wrong didn’t bear thinking about.

Which meant he did. He held back the shudder and was grateful when Jim reached over and touched the small of his back lightly, briefly, before the beam whined and Leonard’s vision became a blur of sparkling mist.

He came out the other side, none the worse for wear, _thank god,_ and he quickly stepped forward before he could even take stock of where they’d beamed down. He could feel Jim’s hand still hovering around his lower back and he took comfort in it, despite the lack of touch.

It was a strange, added benefit of the mental bond the three of them had forged. He could swear he could _feel_ them, physically, even when they weren’t touching him.

They were standing in a small, stone chamber, the air cooler than he’d expected to feel here on Vulcan. Certainly nothing like he had experienced the _last_ time the three of them had been to Vulcan, and hadn’t _that_ been a lovely little clusterfuck.

“Jim, Leonard,” Spock’s voice cut through Leonards’ thoughts and both he and Jim turned to face Spock in the open doorway of the chamber, his hand already stretched out for both of them. Jim reached for Spock’s right while Leonard reached for his left, the three of them sharing a simple Vulcan kiss that – for all its simplicity, for all that it was _humanly_ innocent - still made Leonard giddy, a swoop of feeling fluttering through him like a thousand butterflies.

Spock inclined his head impassively towards Leonard, but along the bond, Leonard could feel his amusement, and his love, bolstering his spirits.

Maybe he could get through this.

Spock took them first on a tour of his childhood home, which as more expansive than Leonard had expected – but then, he supposed, Vulcan wasn’t nearly as overcrowded as earth was, nor filled with short sighted fuddy duddies. Centuries ago, when approaching the planets critical mass, the Vulcans had done what any logical species would have done (or so Spock had explained) – voluntarily self-regulated population control.

Instead of the rigid proponents of 2 children per couple max, there was a more logical give and take, those who wished none ‘giving up’ their allotment to those who thrived with more. It worked, somehow, in a way that Leonard didn’t think it ever would with humans.

He pushed the distracting thoughts away and focused on the tour. Everything was airy and light and held more decoration than Leonard would have expected. The flowers, he suspected, were Amanda’s touch.

After the tour, Sarek and Amanda appeared out of what Leonard would have sworn was thin air but knew was simply really good timing. Vulcans were nothing if not punctual if there were no outside influences to prevent it, and even then, they were usually (almost creepily, he might have once said) punctual.

At least Spock was, anyway.

And just like that, as he stared at the Ambassador and his wife, Leonard’s nerves returned.

“Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy,” Sarek intoned. “Welcome.”

“Please, if it wouldn’t make you uncomfortable, call me Jim,” Jim said brightly.

Sarek inclined his head while Spock’s mother smiled in a strangely warm and yet somehow still reserved manner. “Of course, Jim.” She glanced over at Leonard.

With a swallow of his nerves, and holding himself from rocking on his feet, Leonard nodded and said, “Leonard, if you like,” a little gruffly, admittedly. A whisper of calm flowed from Spock to him, and it eased him somewhat. Enough to get through some small talk, anyway, then dinner. Jim was in his element, of course, telling stories that were not tall tales but would probably be classified as such by any sane or normal person, and the entire time, Leonard drew on Spock’s calm to keep him centered.

When it grew late enough, Spock’s parents retired and Spock led Jim and Leonard to his room. Leonard froze in the doorway in surprise at the bed.

“This is your childhood bed?” he said, arching his own eyebrow up at Spock. “A little hedonistic, don’t you think?” It came out more biting than he meant, the words meant as a joke but the tone a cover for his nerves.

Jim chuckled but Spock caught the tone and crossed back over to Leonard. The low-level hum of concern that had been hiding under the calm rose, making itself known. Leonard had felt it, but had been unable to identify it until that moment.

“Leonard, you have been on edge throughout dinner. Are you… “ he paused, thinking his words through carefully as he reached for Leonard’s hand. Jim joined them, a frown appearing on his face, regret tinging the bond. Leonard almost flinched. Spock’s eyes saddened. “Did you not wish to be here, tonight? My apologies if you felt forced -”

“What?” Leonard asked, his breath leaving him explosively on the word.

“If you felt you were not ready to take this step, I would not have imposed upon you,” Spock said. “I merely wished to have all my family in one place, as has happened all too infrequently since I first enrolled in Starfleet.”

“No, no, it’s – “ Leonard shook his head, giving a short, self-deprecating laugh.

“Bones?” Jim asked, the worry in _his_ voice, through the bond making Leonard’s eyes snap over to him. Leonards’ nerves dropped, souring further. He was ruining this moment, making them worry about _him_ , making them think he didn’t want this when he _did_. He was just… scared and didn’t want to admit it. _Goddammit._

Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes briefly. “Look, it’s not that I don’t _want_ to be here, or that I don’t want to spend time with you – publicly or not. I love you, Spock, both of you.” Jim reached out and gently pulled Leonard’s hand down from his face and held it in both his, rubbing his finger comfortingly, the contact of all three of them exploding the link brightly, Leonard _feeling_ their love and worry down to his very core. He almost sobbed at it, unworthy as he still felt to have this.

He struggled to get out the words, knowing Spock wouldn’t force himself any further into Leonard’s mind than the bond already allowed, or further than Leonard had already okayed, respectful the privacy of both of his lovers.

“I still can’t believe that I’m here with you, either of you. What we have is still so new that I’m afraid that the slightest incident could blow this whole thing down around my ears,” Leonard said. He took a breath, forcing himself to go on. “I know that it is highly uncommon for a Vulcan to have two spouses, though not impossible, and it wasn’t too long ago that you were engaged to a full Vulcan at your father’s wishes, and that your relationship with your estranged father is only recently repaired. I worry that in his eyes, we won’t measure up, and that he’ll think less of _you_ , because of _us_.”

Because of _me_ , he couldn’t help but think. Jim was intelligent, had rank and charm and was going places, while Leonard was a disaster with an already failed marriage under his belt. “After all, we’re only human and…” Leonard pressed his lips tightly together.

“My father no longer has a say in whom I should marry. He had his chance, and it does not bear dwelling on how badly that went.”

Leonard snorted. That was an understatement. Forced to fight Jim, Leonard having to fake Jim’s death to get the ritual to end. Spock had been ashamed, unable to quite look Jim or Leonard in the eyes for weeks. In the end, Jim had needed to corner him, talk to him, make him understand that _they_ didn’t blame him.

Jim and Spock had come out of it stronger, had come out of it _together,_ and Leonard had believed himself shut out, his hopes for a future with Jim being given the final blow.

It hadn’t stopped him pining, but that was neither here nor there.  In the end, Spock and Jim had wound up together and Leonard had – or so he thought – wound up alone. The emotional whiplash he’d gone through, the fear for both Spock’s and Jim’s lives, the outrage on their behalves, and the guilt and jealousy over what he’d thought he lost…

Disaster. The whole event had been disaster, no matter how well it had worked out later.

“Nor should he have any right to discourage me from mating with a human, as he has chosen to do so himself. To object would be hypocritical, at best. Last, but not least,” Spock paused and he touched Leonard’s cheek, rubbing away the tears Leonard hadn’t realized were streaming down his face.

His breath hitched, and he bit his lip, closing his eyes against the piercing gaze from Spock, feeling the onslaught of his own emotions combined with theirs, all of it mixing together in a riotous fashion that churned his stomach further.

Jim’s hands tightened over Leonard’s, shuffling closer, and Leonard was torn between leaning into Jim’s body, or into Spock’s hand. He may have whimpered, but he would deny it.

“There is no way that you or Jim could ever fail to measure up,” Spock said softly. “But even should my father disapprove, it would not change _u_ s. We are the only ones who have any say in this.”

“I’m sorry, I know that I’m being stupid,” Leonard choked out.

Jim’s head bumped against his briefly, his hands dropping away. The pang that ran through Leonard shuddered its way through Jim, through Spock, before being soothed back down when Jim wrapped his arms around Leonard from behind, pulling him close and enveloping Leonard with his warmth. Spock’s hand still cradled Leonard’s cheek, the other coming up to join it.

“Leonard, your feelings are valid,” Spock said. Leonard jolted, eyes flying open and Jim chuckled, the sound reverberating throughout his body. “Never let my distaste for allowing my own to be open to public consumption keep you from feeling _yours;_ for it is your passion, your kind and gentle soul, your unending empathy, among a host of other qualities that you possess, that has endeared me so greatly to you.”

Spock’s hands slid away from Leonard’s cheeks with a last swipe of his tears before trailing over his shoulders and down the length of his arms, catching Leonards’ fingertips in a tingling, uplifting sensation before their fingers caught together and Spock drew Leonard – and by extension, Jim – to the bed.

He sat down upon it, reeling them both closer to him.

“As for my ‘hedonistic ways’, my bed was not always so large as this, though in my youth, I did require something larger than normal, as I shared with my pet sehlet. I arranged for an upgrade before inviting you both here. I would not – and, in fact, _could_ not - leave one of you out in the cold, for you both mean too much to me,” Spock murmured.

Spock opened the bond wide, and Leonard felt the love that flooded through it wash over him. It was redoubled from Jim and Leonard ached, tension leaking away from his body under the knowing ministrations of their hands as they helped strip him, then themselves, before they eased their way up the bed proper and into each other’s arms, curling about each other, leaving Leonard in the middle with no doubt that he was _loved_ , in every sense of the word.

And in the morning, with them as ever by his side, he felt more himself, better prepared for tackling the subject of interacting with his Vulcan in-laws.


End file.
